Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among oral language, decoding, and reading comprehension for children with autism. Participants included 13 English-speaking children with a diagnosis of high-functioning autism (IQ > 70) who were included in a typical classroom, and who had parents who spoke English. Parts of the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals, OWLS: Listening Comprehension, and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test were administered to measure oral language abilities, and parts of the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test and Test of Word Reading Efficiency were given to assess decoding and reading comprehension. Results indicated there was no significant relationship between phonology and decoding, but there was a significant relationship between semantics and decoding. There were also significant relationships between semantics and comprehension and syntax and comprehension.
FUNDING AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Descriptive data for some participants was provided from the “Peer Related School Interventions for Children with Autism” NIH funded study at UCLA (U54-MH-06872). Special thanks to Dr. Connie Kasari and Dr. Amanda Gulsrud for their assistance in recruiting participants for this study. This manuscript was prepared from a doctoral dissertation.